The present invention relates generally to hygienic wipes warmers, and more particularly to an improved hygienic wipes steamer that is specifically adapted to produce individual, warmed and moistened hygienic wipes from a roll of uncut, dry non-woven or paper material.
Hygienic wipes have been marketed in the United States for many years. Essentially, hygienic wipes are small pre-moistened paper or synthetic (non-woven) towelettes and are typically available in packages to the consuming public. They are used to cleanse the skin of infants and small children and are also referred to as baby wipes. The wipe fluid content for these pre-moistened wipes is generally comprised of cleansers, lotions and preservatives.
A few years after the hygienic wipes were introduced into the marketplace, various products for warming the wipes were made available to the public. Such products have been devised to comfort the hygienic wipe users from the inherent “chill” given off by the contact of the moistened wipes. For example, it is now a common practice for parents to employ the use of warm hygienic wipes (i.e., hygienic wipes) on their children.
These warming products are generally electric operated and come in two distinct styles. One is an “electric blanket” style which is sized to wrap around the external surfaces of a plastic hygienic wipes container. The other is a self-contained plastic “appliance” style which warms the accommodated hygienic wipes with its internally positioned heating element. Though such currently known and available hygienic wipes warming products achieve their primary objective of warming hygienic wipes, they possess certain deficiencies which detract from their overall utility.
One significant deficiency of the prior art hygienic wipes warmers is their inability to quickly and thoroughly warm the hygienic wipes. The prior art hygienic wipes warmers are typically configured to position a heating element in general proximity to an area where the hygienic wipes are disposed. In this respect, the generated heat is merely conveyed to such area which then gradually and slowly diffuses itself therethroughout so that the hygienic wipes can eventually be heated to the elevated temperature. However, even then, not all the hygienic wipes are adequately warmed as the heat often times does not reach the hygienic wipes disposed in the middle of a hygienic wipes stack. As such, the prior art hygienic wipes warmers expend a great amount of time in warming up the hygienic wipes, often with inadequate performance.
Another deficiency of the prior art hygienic wipes warming products is the inability to sustain the coloration of the hygienic wipes. More specifically, in prior art hygienic wipes warming products, discoloration or browning of the hygienic wipes occurs because of a reaction of various chemicals in the wipes to heating. As such, even though the prior art hygienic wipes warming products may adequately warm the hygienic wipes, they cannot, however, avoid the undesirable effects of discoloration when warming them. In addition, prior art hygienic wipes warming products are limited in the temperature to which they can effectively heat the hygienic wipes because of browning and drying out of the hygienic wipes that occurs over time. Even further, prior art hygienic wipes warming products are by their nature often ineffective in heating the hygienic wipes to a sufficiently elevated temperature. More particularly, the heated hygienic wipes may only be heated up to body temperature due to rapid dissipation of heat when the hygienic wipes are exposed to open air.
An even further deficiency associated with prior art hygienic wipes warming products is the requirement that the hygienic wipes must be provided in a stacked formation. In addition, each one of the hygienic wipes in the stack must be pre-cut to a size that is compatible with the particular hygienic wipes warming device. Furthermore, the pre-cut hygienic wipes must be layered in registration with one another (i.e., aligned) and/or pre-folded in the stack formation such that the stack will fit within the hygienic wipes warmer.
After heating, the individual hygienic wipes may then be withdrawn from the hygienic wipe warming device and/or unfolded for use. As may be appreciated, the necessity of precutting, pre-folding, and layering in registration the hygienic wipes increases the manufacturing costs associated with hygienic wipes. Such costs are ultimately passed on to the consumer during the initial purchase of hygienic wipes and for subsequent refill purchases. In addition, the warm, moist, dark environment within some prior art hygienic wipes warming products provides an unhealthy breeding ground for potentially harmful micro-organisms (e.g., germs).
Some prior art hygienic wipes warmers present another deficiency in the form of a safety hazard due to the inclusion of a hot water container within the hygienic wipes warmer. Such prior art hygienic wipes warmers operate by heating the container of water and then using steam from the heated water to warm a hygienic wipe. While such a hygienic wipes warmer may be acceptable for use in certain commercial or institutional environments, the hot water in the container may pose an unreasonable risk in a home environment. For example, it is foreseeable that a toddler could pull the hygienic wipes warmer off of a countertop or a table with resulting scalding of the toddler by the hot water in the container.
Prior art hygienic wipes warmers of the type having the heated water container are additionally inconvenient from a time efficiency standpoint. Such hygienic wipes warmers require a relatively lengthy waiting period (e.g., up to 30 minutes) from activation of the hygienic wipes warmer until a warmed hygienic wipe is produced. This is because the entire contents of the water container must be sufficiently heated in order to then heat the hygienic wipes to an acceptable temperature. Such lengthy waiting period may be unacceptable and impractical in certain situations such as those situations involving infant care.
Thus, there exists a substantial need in the art, and in the infant products manufacturing business in particular, for a hygienic wipes warming product that can effectively provide warmth to the hygienic wipes without discoloring them. Additionally, there exists a need in the art for a hygienic wipes warming product that can heat the hygienic wipes in a time-efficient manner. Furthermore, there exists a need in the art for a hygienic wipes warming product that does not require the use of pre-cut, pre-folded, and layered hygienic wipes.
Additionally, there exists a need in the art for a hygienic wipes warming product that avoids the safety hazards associated with hot water containers as used in prior art hygienic wipes warmers. Also, there exists a need in the art for a hygienic wipes warming product that avoids the deficiencies associated with growth of micro-organisms in prior art prior art hygienic wipes warmers that use pre-moistened wipes. Finally, there exists a need in the art for a hygienic wipes warming product that can achieve these objectives in a user-friendly and cost-effective manner.